


Poplar Wood and Lavatory Tiles

by beta_cancri



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Battle of Hogwarts, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, F/M, Good Draco Malfoy, One Shot, Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 10:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28469529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beta_cancri/pseuds/beta_cancri
Summary: Holed up in an abandoned bathroom during the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco and Lila have to face some difficult truths.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	Poplar Wood and Lavatory Tiles

“Draco,” she garbled, “Look at me.”

The request seemed to fall on deaf ears. Shining grey eyes darted all around Lila’s body and to his own grimy hands. Grey powder quickly turning crimson with each labored heartbeat of the broken girl held in his arms.

“Draco!” Lila called again in a forced whisper, “Eyes here!” It was unclear if his attention was broken by the sound of a nearby explosion and screams or if her pleas had finally made it through his faze of confusion.

Draco shut his eyes tight, a furrow in his brow and a wobble in his lower lip. A weak breath tumbled out of his mouth as his eyes roamed up to lock with the deep brown ones begging his attention.

“Yes?” he breathed.

The girl exhaled in a momentary show of relief until her breath caught on a cough that wracked her whole body. Lila threw her hand over her mouth in an attempt to muffle the harsh sound breaking through the fragile quiet.

Looking up, Lila saw a startling drop of red splattering Draco’s face. She reached out with a trembling hand and wiped the liquid away with her thumb before staring, transfixed on the remnants on her fingers.

“Are you hurt?” She asked, still rubbing the blood between her thumb and forefinger. When she finally looked at Draco’s face again, he looked at her with an astonished expression.

His palms hit the ground violently, propelling his body upright again. He began pacing the length of the abandoned bathroom, muttering to himself. Most of it was complete nonsense, but Lila was able to make out the phrases “must be in shock”, “blasted Potter and his crackpot schemes”, and “time, i just need more time.”

“Draco Malfoy! You tell me what is going on right this second!” she whispered angrily. Draco’s dragon-leather shoes stumbled to a halt in a puddle on the tiled floor.

Lila watched his shoulders fall before he slowly turned himself to face her again. He began walking slowly. Each echo of his footfalls made her feel uneasy for some reason. But Lila trusted Draco, didn’t she? So why was she scared? What felt so wrong?

Her questions were answered when Draco lowered himself to sit on the tiles in front of her, finally giving Lila an unobstructed view of his face.

Draco was scared.

Knowing Draco, she had seen many of his expressive faces. Lila could tell if Draco was telling off a petulant first year or complaining about the changed formula in his hair potion solely based on the arch of his pale eyebrows, the quirk of his lips, and the glint in his eyes. She knew annoyed, tired, sad, angry, jealous, anxious, even hopelessly, head-over-heels in love. But fear… now that was an emotion rarely displayed on the proud and pointily aristocratic visage of Draco Malfoy.

“Dolohov,” he grunted. Lila’s forehead pinched in confusion before he continued. “You were cursed by that lecherous excuse for a wizard, Dolohov. Some wild purple curse that hit you like a bolt of lightning before knocking you out cold. I threw a slicing hex his way that caught him in the jugular. He’s dead, don’t worry, he’s dead now.”

Lila was unsure if Draco was trying to comfort her or himself with that. So she just nodded, silently processing the new information.

In her concentration, she failed to notice Draco sliding closer until she felt his slender fingers brush against her lips. When he pulled his hand back, she saw them stained red.

Another shaky exhale and Lila looked back into the eyes she knew so well.

“How long do you reckon I have until the nastier symptoms start in on me?” she asked.

“You’ve been out for five minutes,” Draco whispered shakily. He cleared his throat before speaking again more steadily, “From our experience with these new torture curses, I’d say about 10 more minutes.”

“Right,” Lila wheezed weakly.

Despite the blood and the dust and the bruises, Lila’s face emanated strength when she caught his eyes again.

“Go,” she said softly. “You have to go now, Draco.”

Stunned, Draco blinked back at her, unable, unwilling to accept the words coming from her mouth.

“No,” he growled, “I am not leaving you here to die, Lila!”

Lila wiped one of the many small cuts littering her forehead on the back of her palm. “Yes,” she replied calmly. “I tossed my portkey to Brown on the field and I know that you don’t have yours. Otherwise, we wouldn’t still be stuck in the girl’s lavatory.”

“This is no time for your snark, Lila,” Draco bit back. She could not find it in herself to be angered. The sheen in his eyes betrayed nothing but care and sorrow.  
Lila’s fingers dragged along the tile before she intertwined them with Draco’s. “The Order is relying on you. They need your help if there’s any chance of this war coming to an end.”

Her sentences were too long for her weakened lungs. More coughs, more blood, less time.

“The Order can piss off, you’re the one I’m here for,” Draco croaked. Eyes silently pleading don’t give up.

“And I love you for that,” Lila whispered back, “So go and do this to show me how much you love me.”

Draco said nothing as his head tipped back, jaws set, eyes to the ceiling. She knew it was a low blow, but it had to be done.

“Please, Draco,” she repeated, “For me.”

“Just prop me up against the walls. I know Myrtle can smash some Death Eaters with toilet lids if it comes to it.”

Draco scoffed and shook his head. “You’ve always been too damn stubborn for your own good, Lila.”

“Get that pretty ass out there, Malfoy. I’ve got this under control,” she smirked back at him.

He searched her face again, looking for any sign of hesitation, fear, or regret. He found none. One of Draco’s slender, but muscled arms slid under Lila’s shoulder blades while the other found purchase under her knees. He hauled her up into his embrace and pressed her close into his chest.

Nose pressed against her sweat-soaked locks, Draco had only the sound of his shoes on the tiles to guide him to the protected corner of the room. As gently as he could manage, he lowered Lila to the floor and rested her back against the wall.

He leaned in for a desperate kiss. She tasted like battle: fiery, dusty, metallic, breathtaking. Lila’s fingers curled into Draco’s mussed hair as she pulled back to place her lips against his forehead. “Go save the world for me, yeah?” she murmured against him.

“Alright,” he replied with a bittersweet smile, “just for you.”

Lila watched his tall frame walk towards the crumbled archway leading to the hall. Draco’s head swiveled and he shot her a smirk, but this one didn’t reach his eyes.

When he finally left the room, Lila breathed out a sigh. She grasped at the side of her thigh until she felt her poplar wood wand under her fingertips. With a trembling hand she twirled it around to point at her head and whispered a _Silencio_. Lila knew that if Dolohov’s curse didn’t kill her first, her screams of pain would certainly draw some _one_ or some _thing_ to her that would be more than happy to finish the job.

With a fatigued smile, she finally let her head lull back against the wall.

_Give them hell Draco. I’ll See you in another life._

Her wand clattered to the tile floor, shortly followed by the thump of her limp and dirtied hand. The only sound left was the persistent dripping of a broken faucet and the distant explosions and shouts of battle.

**Author's Note:**

> Eeeek... This is my first posting on AO3. Reads, kudos, and comments are greatly appreciated :,)


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